Rambling, rumbling, rumination

Allod of Questions

Katelyn Olmstead, the Community Manager over at the Allods Online branch in English, emailed me last week in response to my exploratory picture album of the game. It turns out that she actually likes what I whipped up, and would like to see if it’s possible to get the word out about Allods Online a bit more. I like the game, despite my reservations, and I would also like to see it get a bit more press.

To that end, she suggested that they could give some beta access keys away via Tish Tosh Tesh, and maybe even answer some questions about the game in an interview format. (FCC disclosure: I get nothing out of this deal but some answers to questions and maybe a few more readers. FDA disclosure: No food was harmed in the writing of this post.)

My humble abode here isn’t much of a soapbox, but hey, a chance to peek a bit behind the curtain (must… resist… metallic… reference…) is always a bit of fun. In that vein, I’m taking her up on both of her offers, and in the finest “Will It Blend” tradition, seeing what happens when I mix the two.

So, if there is something any of you want to ask Katelyn in her position as Community Manager, please ask it in the comments down below.

I’ll send the bunch of them to her next weekend (or earlier if the comments drop off) and see what sticks. She obviously can’t answer some questions, and I reserve the right to add some of my own and excise inappropriate ones (though such will likely never see the light of day in the comments anyway; I’m mean and dictatorial that way). If you’re interested enough to ask about the game, and want a beta key, well, the list of people who submit good questions may well line up nicely with those who get a beta key. (Since numbers may vary, I’m not making promises… just noting that they want to give away keys, and I want to see some good questions; those seem like a good match.)

If nothing else, I’ll come up with a list of questions. Allods Online looks like a game well worth investigating, and I’m going to take this opportunity and run with it. If you’re interested, here’s a chance to poke around.

Oh, and I fully intend to attribute questions as well as I can to those who asked them. If you have a blog or portfolio site you want some attention for, I’ll link to it in the Q&A column with your name, if you’d like. Proper attribution and promotion and all that…

11 Responses

I have one or two: How long has each stage of the game been in development? Which parts took the longest to develop, the dungeons, the ship combat, or the normal world pre-flight? What are your anticipated end-game (max-level) activities for players mainly? (Other than posing at the auction house ;)) Is there a developed crafting system in the game? What are the names of the professions? Any answers are appreciated! :)

I’d like to try it out, so here’s my attempt at a question based on what limited knowledge I have of the game:

Will most of the items in the cash shop be available for earning through an in-game method, or will all the important stuff (races, characters, respecs, etc.) be free with associated in-game fees if necessary (as in the case of respecs)?

This question I’m bringing is up is because of DDO, where their cash shop allows people to buy additional character classes and races that are locked out for people normally, but people can also earn the same races and classes by spending an absurd amount of time playing the game to earn alternative points for the item they want to get.

But my question is who will own the intellectual property rights to fan fiction and fan art? Some games like WoW claim ownership, others like Second Life explicitly allow players to develop their own intellectual property within the game.